The Mist: The Waking Dream (Season 1 Episode 9)
All the groups converge at the mall, but the tension that should be leading us into the final episode doesn’t exist. Sure the crazy level reaches a new high, but most of The Mist Season 1 Episode 9, “The Waking Dream,” falls flat.
At this point, we still don’t know what the mist is, why it’s in Bridgeville, or when it’s going to go away. The movie didn’t necessarily answer those questions either, but at least it gave us a mist that was a worthy big bad. This mist never has not gotten its fear factor engine running and that has been a major problem.
We’re supposed to believe that it’s the mist that’s causing people to act irrationally, but the mist has not been consistent in its actions. One minute the mist has supernatural properties (like the leeches and the shadow monster), and the next it doesn’t.
As expected, Kevin is alive and well. It would have been better if he just headed to the mall instead of having to confront a variety of obstacles that add nothing to the story. All it seems to do is waste time, which maybe is the ultimate goal here because as I’ve said before, there’s just not enough story for ten episodes.
Probably the most ridiculous part of his confrontations is his fight with himself. The idea behind it is a good one, but Kevin has never been a likable character, so his hallucination means nothing.
Of course, he’s going to do whatever is necessary to protect his family. That’s already a given, and we already know he’s capable of anything, so it would not be surprising if he wields a bat and beats the hell out of someone.
His number one target is going to be Adrian.
Adrian’s character development has been interesting, and I wish we would have seen more of his dark side earlier on. I almost feel cheated by not knowing how sick the kid really is until recently.
How soon before Alex and Eve figure it out? Now that they’re all locked in a room with Jay, Adrian might show his ugly side sooner rather than later if there’s enough time before everything comes to a head.
I would expect Adrian to lose control. He’s good at faking normalcy but seeing how Jay and Alex’s relationship has grown might send Adrian over the edge. If he wasn’t able to control himself with Kevin, he shouldn’t be able to control himself in front of the girl he loves.
While Adrian is a big threat for Alex and Jay, there is even a larger one looming.
Nathalie has quickly become the scariest character on The Mist. She crosses over into another realm of insanity which is even worse now than on previous episodes. Her belief system is off the rails.
I’m not completely understanding how and why Connor is such a devotee of Nathalie, but he is, and it’s frightening.
The things he does for her are inexplicable for a guy who is not only a cop but used to be a bully. Is his desire to seek redemption for all his wrongs the reason for his transformation? It’s difficult to believe that he would be willing to kill people so easily because some crazy woman told him to. He’s supposed to be protecting people, not hurting them.
These two are the wild cards in this whole situation, and it still doesn’t make sense why they feel they must kill Jay to make the world right again. Their logic is skewed as is their moral compass. That’s what makes them so scary.
There’s enough crazy on this show that Jonah being an important military person just fits right in, but it’s something that comes our left field.
His entire storyline has been one confusing ball of frustration. His relationship with Mia hasn’t moved the story forward even though there was plenty of potential, and now a character that we met in the beginning of the series, Wes, resurfaces. Wes all of a sudden becoming a major player leaves more questions than it does answers.
The end of The Mist is nigh, and I can only hope that we get answers to our many questions, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the path The Mist is headed down.
What did you think of this episode of The Mist? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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The Mist airs Thursdays at 10/9c on Spike.
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Lisa Babick
Lisa Babick is a Chicago-based writer who can spend hours talking about her favorite TV shows, including Millennium, Gotham, and Outcast. She loves dark television, is a Batmanaholic, and lives for Scooby Doo. Lisa also writes for TV Fanatic.